The 25 best L.A. films of the last 25 years "Los ANGELES isn't a real city," people have said, "it just plays one on camera." It was a clever line once upon a time, but all that has changed. Los Angeles is the most complicated community in America -- make no mistake, it is a community -- and over the last 25 years, it has been both celebrated and savaged on the big screen with amazing efficacy. Damaged souls and flawless weather, canyon love and beach city menace, homeboys and credit card girls, freeways and fedoras, power lines and palm trees . . . again and again, moviegoers all over the world have sat in the dark and stared up at our Los Angeles, even if it was one populated by corrupt cops or a jabbering cartoon rabbit.

WhenWalt Disney Co.executives gave the greenlight to the project that became the Martian adventure film"John Carter,"they hoped they were launching the studio's next big franchise. It was to be directed by Andrew Stanton, who had been associated with a string of successful Pixar Animation Studios films - starting with the 1995 hit "Toy Story. " The source material was a century-old sci-fi touchstone that had inspired filmmakers including George Lucas and James Cameron. The movie would fit perfectly into Disney Chairman and Chief ExecutiveRobert A. Iger's big-picture plan to produce movies that would spawn sequels, become theme park attractions and drive sales of "John Carter" merchandise.

As emcee of the 10th annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball on June 11, Tom Arnold reminded the event's guests of the importance of the organization that helps the homeless achieve self-sufficiency. Having had his own problems with drugs and alcohol, Arnold said, "I could very easily be on the other side of this fence instead of having the honor of hosting this. " The ball, held at the Mandeville Canyon estate of Hayward Kaiser and Susan Harris, raised more than $1 million for Chrysalis, thanks to an outpouring of support from an 800-strong, star-studded crowd that included Jon Favreau, LL Cool J, Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Garner, Amanda Anka and Jason Bateman, Rosetta and Balthazar Getty, Odette and Dave Annable, Brad Goreski, Molly Sims, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Abigail Spencer, Soleil Moon Frye, comedian Whitney Cummings, Ashley Greene of "Twilight," Matt Lanter of "90210," Ryan Phillippe of "The Lincoln Lawyer," Chris Kattan of "Saturday Night Live" and Eric Dane of "Grey's Anatomy.

Anyone who savors Dax Shepard's warmly engaging turn as family screw-up Crosby Braverman on TV's fine "Parenthood" is bound to be far less enchanted by the Shepard who wrote, co-directed and stars in the patchy mockumentary "Brother's Justice. " Sure, this frequently improvised spoof isn't intended to be taken seriously, but it's also not funny or incisive enough to counter the unappealing persona the actor-comedian has concocted here: an impulsive, clueless narcissist on a journey to reinvent himself as an action star.

The life of Beach Boys co-founder and California native Brian Wilson gets the hometown treatment in “Love & Mercy,” a feature film produced by television veteran John Wells (“ER,” “The West Wing,” “Southland”), Bill Pohlad (who is also the director) and Claire Rudnick Polstein. The biographical drama is shooting in the Hollywood area as well as in various locations around Southern California. John Cusack, Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks and Paul Giamatti co-star in the story of the legendary musician, songwriter and producer who helped create the iconic California sound that made the group famous in the 1960s -- before mental health battles sidelined him. Other feature films scheduled to shoot locally include Jon Favreau's food truck comedy “Chef,” filming in Hancock Park, and the thriller “The Vatican Tapes,” filming in Eagle Rock, according to FilmL.A.